"It's a worry and hard on our vehicles and our volunteers, who, instead of getting up at 5.30am for their first run to Palmerston North, are now having to be up at 5am," he said.
"On Monday morning, we had a shuttle stuck at a stop/go sign on the Saddle Rd, unable to make some pick-ups.
"Yes, the gorge closure is causing logistic problems, but it's nothing we can't fix, because we've got such a good team."
The health shuttles travel between 10,000 and 12,000km each month, mainly to Palmerston North and, the last time the gorge road was shut, vehicle maintenance costs and fuel expenditure was up, adding an extra third to the service's operating costs. And for Dannevirke nurse Sue Farrell, travelling to work in Palmerston North has become more difficult with the closure of the road through the gorge.
"It's taking me more time and costing more for petrol," she said.
Ms Myers acknowledged it was important to get the work [on the gorge road] done swiftly, but safely.
"Cleaning up the dirt and rock is a small part of the job and ensuring the rock face is secure was always going to be the challenge," she said.
"We need to be certain the hillside is stable before we start to let traffic through the site again and we're making promising inroads.
"Safety is our number one priority and while we know the closure is disruptive, the safety of the travelling public and our on-site contractors must come first."
Meanwhile, work on the $4.5 million Saddle Rd upgrade is still under way, with motorists urged to take care.
To help ease motorists travel over the detour, Tararua District Council chief executive Blair King said hot mix would be spread on the trenches on the Saddle Rd to allow for the speed limit in those areas to be lifted from 30km/h to 70km/h.
"However, the speed limit won't change on the boundary as we're concerned for motorist safety, especially in the dark," he said.
